Brunswick Landing drives midcoast real estate activity

Courtesy / Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority

The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority's continuing success in developing Brunswick Landing, with the twin runways of the Brunswick Executive Airportshown in the background, is helping to drive real estate activity in the greater Brunswick-Topsham-Bath region.

In 2017, Brunswick Landing continues to show strong growth in the Bath-Brunswick-Topsham region.

The former Navy base houses 100 businesses that have created 1,500-plus jobs. More than 1 million square feet of available space is being used, according to Steve Levesque, executive director of the Midcoast Regional Development Authority, the agency that oversees Brunswick Landing development,

He made his comments at the Maine Real Estate & Development Association's annual forecast conference, held Thursday at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.

Activity in 2017 at Brunswick Landing included construction of a 12,000-square-foot medical office building; redevelopment projects by Flight Deck Brewery and the REAL School; and the move by STARC Systems from the Tech Place manufacturing and business incubator into its own 16,000-square-foot building.

TechPlace is 75% full and Brunswick Executive Airport had record growth, indicative of its value as a regional asset, said Levesque.

ReVision Energy also built a 1.5 megawatt solar farm, a 4,500-panel array owned by Diversified Communications, which will sell the power to the MRRA.

Continued pockets of growth

Downtown Brunswick continues to be a popular place with $1.2 million in private investment in renovations, restorations and rehabs in 2017, Levesque said.

The area did lose an Owens Corning plant, with the work being moved to Texas, leaving a 100,000-square foot building vacant at Brunswick Industrial Park.

Looking ahead, Levesque cited the expected availability of the 50-acre Crooker Construction site in Topsham, which is expected to come onto the market in the next two or three years as the company transitions to other sites. It's across from Topsham Fair Mall on the Lewiston Road, also known as Route 196.